This is my favorite photo of Mom from her younger days❣
Yesterday, on the 22nd anniversary of Mom’s passing, I expected to be especially sad because this is the first year that I wasn’t home to take flowers to her for Mother’s Day, her birthday on May 25th or September 7th. I spent a long time at the cemetery just before I started on this adventure & delivered flowers that day. I know she understands…
This was my FB tribute in 2020.
Actually, Mom has been traveling with Maddie & me on this adventure! 😇 She has sent so many signs to me along the way, but none stronger than yesterday’s. We had quite a wind storm before sunrise in the morning. When it finally stopped & I crawled out of the tent, the tree overhead had dropped a lot of leaves. Heart shaped leaves❣
Beautiful ❤ shaped leaves. I was sitting at the picnic table later in the afternoon, when I heard bald eagles squabbling. I looked up & there were 3 eagles flying overhead. As I watched them, this heart shaped cloud drifted over! I edited it slightly to brighten it up, but the shape is what I saw. It only lasted a minute or so. If the eagles hadn’t drawn my attention upwards, I’d have missed it.This was a reflection on the ground from my car door.The sunset was beautiful over the Mississippi River last night. I sat on this swing for a long time, talking with Mom. Maddie thought I’d lost my mind, again, but 🤷♀️
I inherited my sense of adventure from Mom. Dad was a homebody. She “predicted” my travel bug future on the day I was born. I was born on a Thursday. The phrase “Thursday’s Child has Far to Go” is from the Old English nursery rhyme “Monday’s Child” which is a poem based on the days of the week. In American baby names, the meaning of the name Wendy is Wanderer. 💝
Mom loved to travel & I learned & have adapted her travel style. She researched her destinations prior to every trip & she did it without the benefit of computers, GPS, cellphones, etc.That accomplishment is more impressive to me now than ever before!
Mom loved to see new places, learn new things & meet new people. I also got that from her & I’m forever grateful.💝
I’m popping in to say hello today because Maddie & I are celebrating Day #123 of our adventure! We left Massachusetts on May 2, so today is our 4 month mark. I’ve now driven 6,779 miles!
Time really does fly when you’re on the journey of a lifetime❣
We arrived at this Iowa state park last night for a short stopover, before heading on to Wisconsin tomorrow. This part of the campground is considered “primitive” because there are no water or electrical hook-ups, although we have do community water faucets & there is a restroom close by. There are no showers here, which is why it’s a quick visit! 😉 I do have access to the showers & some other modern conveniences, but it’s over a mile away & honestly, it’s just not worth the effort. 🥴
My definition of primitive & this state park’s definition are worlds apart! Primitive in a campground generally means very minimal modern conveniences. I wasn’t expecting such wide open areas & lush, green grass! I’ve also managed to choose the perfect campsite again! We’re all alone on this side of the campground!
We fell asleep last night to a chorus of owls, cicadas & frogs. Maddie woke me up at about 4:30am for a pee break, at which time I heard roosters 🐓 in the vicinity. 🤔 Not the usual wildlife I’d expect in the “wilderness”. A few hours later, I awoke to cows 🐄 serenading us! Welcome to Iowa! 😁 The temperature had dropped to about 54° overnight, but we were nice & toasty in the tent! (Thank you, Lowell… 🤗)
Almost this entire section of the lake is thickly covered in green algae. I’ve heard Canada geese, great blue herons, owls, cardinals, crows, blue jays, woodpeckers & many others. The condition of the lake is probably keeping a lot of the campers & boaters away. The wildlife inhabitants are loving it! The humans, not so much. 🤷♀️ Maddie & I walked a short trail behind our campsite. I think this tree had the lead role in the Wizard of Oz!My current view from the tent. Maddie always gets herself tangled up within 3 minutes! 🙄Breakfast this morning❣ I had bought almost a pound of fully cooked ham & decided to grill it this morning. I glazed it with Mike’s Hot Honey, which is honey infused with hot chili peppers! I bought a tiny jar to try several weeks ago & now I wish I’d bought a large jar! It’s DELICIOUS & I’m not usually a fan of hot or spicy foods. I added red delicious apple slices & green onion cheese. And of course, coffee. Full disclosure: This is Wendy. 😁 I haven’t been kidnapped and/or brainwashed! Most of my family & friends know that I’ve never really been interested in doing much cooking…until this adventure! Now, I’m LOVING it! I’ve always believed that food cooked outside tastes better & I’ve proven my point!I don’t have refrigeration & my cooler isn’t efficient, at all. If I splurge & buy something that needs refrigeration, I have to use it up very quickly. So, here’s my early supper! I finished up the ham & added a wild & brown rice combination, along with fresh, local tomatoes.
Sadly, I’m packing up the tent early & we’ll be sleeping in the car tonight. 😒 We’re heading to Wisconsin tomorrow & it’s supposed to start raining by 5am. We’ve survived some seriously intense storms recently, but I have zero interest in packing up in the rain, if I can avoid it.
And before I close, my thoughts are with everyone in the path of the crazy weather that’s been happening almost everywhere lately. It’s a surreal feeling to be sitting 1242 miles away from home, watching the weather reports from there. I hope everyone stays safe & healthy.🤞🏼
Hugs 🤗 Wendy & Maddie 💕
This is a P.S. – When I said we’re alone, we’re ALONE!!! I just took Maddie for her last walk (🤞🏼) for the night & we took the long way around. Our campsite is marked with the arrow.
Today is National Dog Day & I can’t let it pass, without acknowledging & honoring Maddie❣
I adopted Maddie from the PEI (Prince Edward Island, Canada) Humane Society on September 12, 2009. She was 22 months old.
💝 Adoption Weekend – September 2009 💝
Today, we’re 1130 miles away from home & having the best time of our lives! She has been AMAZING on this trip, way beyond my highest hopes. Every decision I’m making is based on what’s best for her. She’s doing so well that I have to constantly remind myself that she’s almost 14! She’s “forcing” me to slow down, relax & live in the moment.
Today, we’re heading off to explore the area, It’s going to be another scorcher here, with a Real Feel temperature of over 105°. 😳 We’ve experienced SEVERE thunderstorms the past 2 nights, so we’re exhausted. 🥱 It’s really not fun to be in a tent while the world feels like it’s crashing in around you! The storms move in very quickly here, without any warning, so I haven’t been able to get us into the car safely before it’s too late. 🥴
I’ve been running the car AC for an hour or two each day for us to cool down. Today we’ll just ride around & enjoy the views in air conditioned comfort.There is definitely ice cream in our future!
❤ Maddie through the years! ❤ 💗Just a few of her MANY photos from our trip. 💗Maddie has 2 beds. She almost always chooses the rocks AND the hard place! 🤷♀️Two of my favorite subjects to photograph. Maddie & sunrise/sunsets.
This was an unexpected stop on our way to Indiana. Maddie is fine now, but I had a terrible scare at Laurel Branch Campground. I didn’t mention it in my LB update because it was the only blemish during our visit there. This stop was to make sure Maddie was ok before moving on to a new area. She’s fine! 💝
At Laurel Branch, we were walking our usual morning route when a young, very large dog came running up to us, dragging her leash. Her owner wasn’t fast enough to intercede & Maddie was knocked to the ground at least twice. I was yelling for help & the dog’s owner kept saying “It’s ok! She’s friendly!” 🙄 I was kicking at the other dog, while trying not to fall or kick Maddie. 🥺
We had 2 rough days afterwards. I think it was similar to the days after a human falls, when it can hurt worse than the original injury. She was very quiet, very stiff moving & wouldn’t eat. I actually looked up emergency vets in the area. 🥺 She probably got some bruising & sore ribs from it. I thought about it overnight & reported it to Angie, our Camp Host the next morning. I didn’t want the dog to get in trouble because of her irresponsible owner, so I asked her to “quietly” put it on record, in case there was another incident. I honestly think the dog was just trying to play with Maddie, but the woman was CLUELESS. She dragged her dog over to her camper & I heard her husband say “I told you this would happen again.” THAT’S why I reported it. 😡
By the 3rd morning, Maddie was back to being herself. ❤ She was eating, drinking water & keeping watch over our Queendom. 👸 I knew she was ok then & I felt safe to travel.
As it turned out, Cave Creek Campground was a well-chosen stopover! It’s on the same lake as Laurel Branch, so it was only a 20 minute drive. The Camp Hosts, Rick & Darlene have a sweet little pup named Chloe. Chloe is almost 14, too! I was relieved, knowing they’d be very strict about loose dogs.They also drive around frequently to check on everything, so it was comforting to feel safe there.
While I was checking in, Rick saw my MA license plate & we had a nice conversation about Massachusetts. His previous job of 30+ years involved traveling to the Boston area. He’s a Patriots fan, too, so I knew I’d picked a good place to spend a few days. 😉 He introduced me to a camping couple who were married at the campground in May! 💞
In my ongoing search for fresh local produce, I drove 20 minutes to a Farmers Market in Leitchfield, KY on Saturday morning. Unfortunately, some road construction delays caused a late arrival & most vendors had closed early due to the heat. There were 2 Amish farms waiting for their horses to return to take them home, so I was able to buy tomatoes, 2 fried pies & honey. I had hoped to buy more, but I was grateful for what I was able to get & it was all delicious. The market is held in the parking lot of the Grayson County Extension Service offices. It’s also the home of the 4-H office.4-H has been an important part of my life since I was a little girl, so it was fun to see the signwith the 🍀 logo on it.This was Sunday night & as usual, we were almost alone again. The Camp Hosts, Rick & Darlene were there, but most of the campers had already left.It had to happen sometime! 🙄 On Day #99, we had a rain delay for our next move. 🤷♀️ I got up extra early to pack up before the expected rain, but it came in faster overnight. It stopped raining by mid-morning, but the tent was soaked & the MUDDY slope to the car was more slippery than ice! It was also raining at our next stop in Indiana. 🥴 I decided to pack up & leave the next day instead. I was able to adjust my reservations, without any additional fees! 😁If you don’t believe in Guardian Angels, you should roadtrip with Maddie & me! 😇 By Monday night, we were the only tent campers left in our area. We were on a fairly main road that almost everyone uses, so I waved as people drove by us. As I was trying to decide what to do about supper, a neighbor walked up with a full bundle of firewood. Patrick & his wife were leaving in the morning & this was extra wood. Five minutes later, he reappeared with all the food in the top photo! They were cleaning out their camper refrigerator & thought I might enjoy it! 🤗 After eating 2 hotdogs & salad, I walked over to thank them again. At that point, they handed me an entire, untouched, fish dinner from a nearby restaurant! Yes, Virginia. There is a Santa Claus. 🎅❣🤶Two hours after I finished supper, the fire was still burning bright! I couldn’t leave it unattended & I didn’t want to drown it out, so I sat & listened to the chorus of cicadas & frogs & watched the fireflies flit by me. Maddie was sleeping peacefully on her bed, a safe distance from the fire. The night air was cool, so the heat from the fire felt great. Life is good. 💝For breakfast on Tuesday morning, I enjoyed the cantaloupe & donuts gifted to me by Patrick the night before & planned out our travel day. I was almost finished, when I saw Patrick heading my way with a paper plate. It was 2 fried eggs, plus scrambled eggs! They didn’t know how I liked my eggs, so they made both for me! I literally started to cry. I had just met this wonderful man 12 hours earlier & I was overwhelmed with the kindness offered to me by him & his wife. We spoke for a few minutes & wished each other safe travels. A short time later, they drove by me to leave. Patrick’s wife was waving & wishing me good luck on my journey. Once again, I was extremely grateful for the kindness of strangers. 😇
My Camp Host, Rick, asked to follow this blog. Rick, I don’t know if you’re “here”, but I want to say thank you to you again. When I arrived at Cave Creek, I was still nervous & upset about Maddie. You made me feel safe & welcome at the campground. It was a last minute decision to stay at Cave Creek, but I’m so glad it worked out for me. It was exactly what I needed before moving on.Thank you & Go Patriots!!! 🏉
It’s Saturday morning, August 21, 2021. Maddie & I are still living it up & loving life here in Indiana! 💕
I’m just popping on this morning to ask everyone in the path of the storm approaching New England to be careful & stay safe! 🤗 I’m always carefully monitoring the weather reports for our future destinations. As a result, I’ve seen the forecasts & videos of the devastating weather along the east coast. I was shocked to see the flooding that has already occurred in Massachusetts & that a tornado was confirmed in Clinton, MA, a small town where I’ve taken a lot of my sunset photos in the past.
When I/we started this journey, some people were understandably concerned about the weather we might be facing along the way. It never occurred to me that I’d be more worried about the weather at home, where the majority of my friends & family live. 🥺
To those in the line of potentially severe & dangerous weather conditions, my thoughts are with you. Please take whatever safety precautions you can now & then hunker down until the storm passes. 💝
Laurel Branch Campground is located on the shore of Rough River Lake in south central Kentucky. The 5,100-acre lake is a hometown paradise for visitors who love the outdoors and more than two million visitors camp, picnic, fish, swim, boat and relax on the lake shore each year.
After our less than pleasant stay at Blue Heron Campground, Laurel Branch Campground was literally a breath of fresh air! When I arrived at the gate to check in, I was greeted, by name, by the Camp Hosts, Angie & her husband, Greg! 😊 I was the only tent camper still due to arrive that day, so they knew it was me. I always read the reviews for a campground before making my reservations. Many of the reviews mentioned Angie by name because of her friendly, welcoming personality & the pride she takes in the maintenance of the campground. The reviews were accurate! The campground is well maintained, the restrooms are kept spotless, the HOT showers were fabulous & they monitor the campgrounds by driving through several times a day. It was nice to feel safe again after our previous NO Camp Host, exploding hot glass/bear/copperhead snake experience. 😳
This was the view from our campsite. We had a huge open area between us & the lake. Behind us were several large campers & mobile homes, so it was nice to have this view.Our tent (Thank you, Lowell 🤗) is 7’x8′, so this photo shows the size of our neighbors. This wasn’t even the largest one. Some of the mobile homes we’re camping with look like rockstar band buses!In between enjoying the fresh air & sunshine & researching future destinations, I’m having fun making crafts. I was craving fresh corn on the cob, so I bought 1 ear to try steaming it. It was delicious! I’ve been using my small pot for a lot of things. I heat water for my coffee & rice in it. I also steam canned corn & green beans in it.While the corn was steaming, I made a cornhusk doll! I learned how to make them at a Native American powwow many years ago, so it only took a few minutes.I was hoping to buy fresh produce from farmstands on a regular basis, but they’re almost non-existent. 🥺 Some areas run farmers markets every Saturday & a few on Wednesdays, so I guess they don’t bother with roadside stands. In my quest for fresh produce, I drove an hour to Trunnell’s Farm Market in Utica, KY. https://www.trunnellsfarmmarket.com It’s a fairly small place, but they carry a good selection of fresh produce, some local meats & cheeses, honey, local jams & jellies & garden plants & gifts. I had a long chat with the gentleman that greeted me upon arrival. He’d noticed my license plate, so he asked if I was lost. 😉 After a lengthy conversation about my journey, my background in the 4-H Club & owning a flower shop, he asked me if I’d consider working there! They were looking for employees to work in the farmstand & accompanying amusement area. He said they’d probably even let me live on the property, if I had my own RV! Wow! I politely declined his interesting offer, bought my produce, ate a delicious fresh peach 🍑 slushy & drove back to the campground, smiling all the way. 😊I thought I was in a Time Machine! The price of gas here was the lowest in the area AND they had a payphone! I took the photos quickly, just as I was pulling out of the parking lot. I didn’t realize until later that the payphone was no longer functioning. 🙄I bought a freshly made Monkey Bread at Trunnell’s. It was delicious with applesauce & iced coffee for breakfast the next morning. Maddie’s pleading eyes eventually broke me down & I shared some bread with her. You try saying NO to that face! 😍Little Dave’s Restaurant was too close to the campground 😁 & I became a semi-regular for breakfast. This breakfast plus a large coffee was delicious & less than $7.00 total! There are 2 eggs & 3 strips of bacon buried under the perfectly cooked home fries. By the 3rd day, I called to place my order & was asked if I wanted “the regular”? Yes, please! Disclaimer: I didn’t go there every day. I think I went 4 or 5 times in the almost 2 weeks I was in the area! 🤷♀️We had a few miserably hot, hazy & humid days, so I made a shelter for Queen Maddie. 💕 On the really uncomfortable days, we both sat in the car for an hour or two, running the air conditioner. It wasn’t very fuel efficient, but I wasn’t going to risk heat stroke for either one of us. ☀️For some reason, we didn’t have many fabulous sunsets here. I think it was because there were almost no clouds, which always make for a better sunset.There weren’t many outstanding sunsets at Laurel Branch, but this one was colorful & different! My last stop as we were leaving the campground was at the dumpster. I almost stepped on this Tiger Swallowtail butterfly, flapping helplessly on the hot sidewalk.It’s wings were all tattered & torn.When I picked it up to move it to safety, I thought about putting it out of it’s misery. 🥺 I walked back to my car with it on my hand, trying to make a decision. It was a very hot day & I didn’t want it to suffer. As I sat there with it in the air conditioned car, I put a little water on my finger & it drank it! After a few minutes, it perked up & crawled from my hand onto my top. At that point, I realized that this beautiful butterfly was still trying to live. I walked it over to a shady area of the parking lot & carefully placed it on some tall grass. Mom & I both love(d) butterflies. I know this was a sign from her, saying hello. 🦋
I posted this on FB 2 years ago! 😁I posted this on FB 4+ years ago!
Hi there! Welcome to Day #100 of our journey! If you’re still here, thank you! If you’re just joining in, welcome! I’m still learning about how WordPress works, so I don’t really know who’s here on any given day. 🤔 To those of you that have made your presence known with a comment, etc., thank you! These were the statistics as of yesterday, 8/9/2021. Please leave a comment, a like or a 😊 to let me know you’re here&please continue to check in!
Thank you… 🤗
Maddie & I have now traveled in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky & Indiana!
When I started this trek, I honestly had no idea how far I could drive. Yesterday, I finally decided to figure out how many miles I’ve driven & was SHOCKED to realize that it was 5770.3 miles, before today’s drive to Indiana! If I wasn’t zigzaging, I could have already driven to California & halfway back to Massachusetts! Tonight, we’re 1028 miles from our starting point in Massachusetts!
So far, almost all of our experiences have been wonderful!We’ve had a few bumps in the road (some literally), but I’m still so grateful that I made this decision. I started this journey WAY OUT of my comfort zone, so I’ve learned how to expand my comfort zone! I’ve always taken pride in & been grateful for having pretty good common sense & MacGyver skills. It turns out that I’ve been rehearsing for this journey!
Is anyone surprised by this? 🤔 I’m just surprised that I was so blonde! 😁It had to happen sometime! 🙄 Yesterday, on Day #99, we had a rain delay for our move here to Indiana. 🤷♀️ I got up extra early to pack up before the anticipated rain, but it came in faster than expected overnight. It stopped raining after a few hours, but the tent was soaked & the MUDDY slope to my car was more slippery than ice! It was also raining most of the way from there to here. 😒 I was able to adjust my reservations, without paying any additional fees! 😁 This is just one of the many advantages of having the flexibility to make changes, as needed!This is our Home Away from Home for the next 10 days. We’re in a beautiful National Forest.
It’s been a long day, so Maddie & I are going to hunker down early & watch the Red Sox game! We changed timezones again today, so we lost an hour. The good news is that sunset is at 8:47pm tonight. It was an hour earlier in Kentucky from 7/23 until today. I’m happy to lose the hour, in exchange for later sunsets! 😊
I’ll backtrack to the past few weeks soon, but I wanted to celebrate Day #100 with you!Thanks for taking this journey with us!Hugs from Indiana. 🤗
Blue Heron Campground is part of Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area in Strunk, Kentucky
July 15-21, 2021
What can I say about our camping experience here? Unfortunately, nothing good. 🥺
Yes, we camped in a handicapped ♿ campsite. 🙄
When I book most campground reservations, I use recreation.gov It’s a website that allows you to see the campsites that you’re considering, before you reserve them. In this case, I somehow managed to reserve the handicapped ♿ accessible site. 🤔 I’m not sure how that happened, but it might have been the only site available when I was booking the reservation. When I arrived & saw the ♿ sign, I immediately wanted to change locations. I HATE to see cars illegally parked in handicapped spaces, so using this spot really bothered me. Unfortunately, I never saw anyone to speak to about it. I called recreation.gov & was told that the only way to change locations was through the on-site Camp Host. “Ummmm…we don’t seem to have a Camp Host… 🤷♀️” The good news was that this site was very close to the restrooms & recycling bins!
I knew when booking this campsite that it was bear country. Every campsite has a bearbox to secure your food items & the multiple dumpsters & recycling bins are all bearproof containers. From the sign on every picnic table, I think the campground was more concerned about the health & safety of the bears 🐻 than the campers! 🤔We were ALONE here for 2.5 days. Just me, Maddie, thousands (millions?) of cicadas & frogs. Oh! And a bear 🐻 & copperhead snakes 🐍!
There was absolutely nothing to do within a wide area around the campground, so I spent time reading & researching future destinations. Just before EVERYONE left my area on Sunday afternoon, a very nice fellow camper stopped by to speak with me. She asked if I’d heard about the bear that had visited the campground the day before. No, nobody mentioned it. 😳 I thanked her for letting me know. She continued. “Did you know that a camper killed a really large, (very dangerous, VERY VENOMOUS) copperhead snake this morning?” Nope, I didn’t know that, either. With those warnings, she wished me luck & left.She & EVERYONE else left.If you look closely at the campground photo, does it remind anyone else of a scene from a scary movie?
At that point, I still had 2 days left on this reservation. I considered moving, but I couldn’t find anywhere to go. I’d chosen this campground because it was reasonably close to our next stop, the Kentucky Horse Park! I just put myself on my highest level of alert & hoped for the best. 🤞🏼
Being the only camper in the area, I decided that cooking probably wasn’t a safe thing to do. It’s not that my cooking is that good 😉, but a hungry bear might not care! I made myself a delicious, bearproof sandwich. 😁
To prevent transporting harmful bugs to other areas, you’re not supposed to move firewood from place to place.I had purchased firewood & hadn’t used it yet, so I decided to make a fire & enjoy it on our second to last night there. It just might keep the bears & snakes away!
BAD IDEA!!! Previous campers had buried glass beer bottles in the ashes! 😡 When I first arrived at the campsite, I’d taken A LOT of trash out of the firepit, but I didn’t notice the bottles. Within a few minutes, my nice HOT fire caused the bottles to explode & glass shards sprayed the area! Luckily, I was able to jump back & Maddie was already a safe distance away.
Before another disaster strikes, can we please leave now???Yikes!!!The next morning, I FINALLY saw a National Park Service employee mowing the lawn & told him about the glass. He apologized & added it to his to-do list.
Thank you, Colonel! I had ordered some food & supplies online from Walmart to do a curbside pick-up. It didn’t seem right to visit Kentucky & not have KFC! It was across the street from Walmart. I was hungry & it was good. 😊
The next morning, I couldn’t wait to leave! It had rained the night before, so I moved the tent & tarp out onto the sunny driveway to dry out & started putting things in the car.Maddie was tied to the picnic table.Five minutes after moving the tarp, I looked over to see if it was drying.
It didn’t really matter… 😳
A copperhead 🐍 snake was in the middle of the tarp!!! That tarp is copper colored & I almost didn’t see it. It was probably 2 feet long.I had rehearsed this possibility in my mind, so I didn’t panic. I cautiously walked over & got Maddie.My NPS landscaper was back, so I asked him for help. By now, the snake had crawled back under the tent. The employee grabbed a stick & moved it into the woods.I also had him help me move the tent, just in case there were any others underneath it. He told me I was the calmest person, male or female, that he’d ever helped with a snake problem.Yay me! 🙄I have a really good photo of the 🐍, but once again, I don’t want to freak anyone out!
I’m pretty sure the tire marks I left speeding out of there will be noticeable for a long time.
I’m kidding…a little bit. 🥴
Moving on to the Kentucky 🐎 Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky! 💕
Asheville, NC was one of the few places on my original Bucket List. I’ve always heard that it’s interesting & beautiful. It’s definitely a beautiful area, with a lot of interesting people & things to do. Sadly, that wasn’t my experience, but I’m hoping to try it again some day! 🥴
I was grateful to find a place to stay, after most of the campsites in the area had canceled their tent & pop-up trailer reservations due to a large bear 🐻 population becoming more active. It didn’t take long for me to find out why this campground had openings.
Luckily, Maddie & I are pretty sound sleepers because the arrow is pointing at the highway above the campground. Our campsite was less than 50 yards away. It’s a VERY BUSY stretch of highway & it was VERY LOUD 24/7. 🤕 It wasn’t exactly the peace & quiet generally associated with camping. To make it worse, there didn’t appear to be anyone available to answer questions. I checked in by text message, but there was no way to leave a message. The restrooms weren’t cleaned for the first 3 days we were there & they really needed some attention. 🙄 There was no TP, soap or paper towels. The trash was overflowing for 3 days. Unfortunately, I had no place to go, so we stayed. 🤷♀️This is the French Broad River. We were camping about 10 feet from the water. According to geologists, the French Broad River is the third oldest river in the world, older than the mountains it passes through. It’s extremely popular with kayakers & paddleboarders, so we had a continuous parade floating by us. It’s also home to venomous copperheads & timber rattlesnakes. 🐍😳🐍Despite being a lab mix with webbed feet, Maddie hates getting her feet wet. 🤷♀️ Our campsite was very damp & soggy for our entire visit, so she came up with a creative solution for herself! At 13.5, she had no problem hopping up onto our picnic table! Normally, I wouldn’t allow it, but I thought we might get the management’s attention. Nope. Maddie ate all of her meals on the table. 😁 It also kept her out of the grass & away from any unwelcome visitors…🐍AboutMallory: https://www.chestnutasheville.com/humans-of-chestnut-pastry-chef-mallory-foster
KEY LIME TART: Sesame Crust, Black Lime Whipped Cream, Macerated Strawberries, Honey Sesame Crumble CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER POT DE CREME Milk Chocolate Pudding, Peanut Butter Creamux, Whipped Mascarpone, Peanut Brittle and Chocolate Crunch
Mallory was my saving grace for Asheville! She’s a former student of my sister’s & is now a very talented Executive Pastry Chef for 2 restaurants in Asheville. I was able to connect with her at Corner Kitchen, 1 of the 2 restaurants & we enjoyed an AMAZING lunch together! Asheville is an extremely pet friendly community, so Maddie sat beside me in the patio dining area.❣We started off with my new favorite gazpacho & I loved my first taste of fried green tomatoes in a BLT sandwich. Yummy!Mallory chose 2 of her signature desserts (see above) for us to share. Wow!!! 💗
Mallory is following my blog, so I want to THANK YOU again for salvaging our trip to Asheville!I wish you continued success! 💝
After lunch, Maddie & I walked around the River Arts District. A thunderstorm cut our walk short, but I’d love to return someday. I’d truly like to give Asheville a second chance!
Welcome to Heartland Farm in Creedmoor, NC ❤🇺🇲❤This home is absolutely beautiful, inside & out. 💕It’s difficult to believe that this property was very thickly covered in trees, not that long ago! J & D bought the land in April 2018 & moved into the house in spring of 2020, It’s 30 acres total, with the front 12 or 13 acres cleared. After A LOT of hard work & TLC, this farm is developing into a wonderful homestead. An old tobacco drying shed has been transformed into a safe haven chicken coop.Free-range chickens 🐓Heartland Farm beef will be available in the fall of 2022.Bee hives 🐝Maddie loved laying on the porch. She only chased the free-range chickens once or twice. 🙄 Luckily, she was tied up & the chickens were fast enough to get away!Cedar Creek Gallery in Creedmoor has beautiful gardens, plants for sale & a gallery filled with handmade, local pottery & jewelery, etc.If I was closer to home, my budget would have taken a hit here!
I enjoyed a delicious (home-cooked 😁) meal & had a wonderful visit with J & D. As I was getting ready to leave, a ferocious thunderstorm with torrential rain hit the area, delaying our departure. Luckily, it eventually slowed down enough for me to make it back safely to the campground.
Thank you, J & D for your hospitality! 🤗💝🤗 Your farm is incredible & I loved the tour, the delicious meal & your company!
Where's Wendy? Livin' in the Edge! 